


i am here

by stefonzoleskys



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Slow Burn, oblivious idiots, they are both morosexuals and thats valid
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-05-16 08:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19314712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stefonzoleskys/pseuds/stefonzoleskys
Summary: Crowley and Aziraphale barely know each other. Sure, they are in the same study group, but they don't talk much aside from that. However, when Aziraphale is being relentlessly pursued by Gabriel, he needs someone to step in.





	1. Two Truths and a Lie

Flowers in hand, Aziraphale slumped into his usual spot with his study group. He tossed the flowers on to the table, and sighed with his head in hand. “Why me? Of all the other english majors, why is Gabriel enamoured with me?” Aziraphale groaned.

Newt Pulsifer, who had been sitting across from Aziraphale, inspected the flowers with a raised eyebrow. “Roses today, huh? He really won’t rest until you go on a date with him…”

Wanting to shield himself from the world (primarily Gabriel), Aziraphale put his head down on the table, groaning in despair. 

After a minute or two, the final two members of the study group arrived. 

“Roses? For me? Gee, Newt, you shouldn’t have,” one of the two teased. 

“Actually, Crowley,” Newt smirked, “these are Aziraphale’s. He happens to be the subject of someone’s affections.”

“Oh really? Our little Wildean incarnate has himself an admirer?” Anathema Device, the only girl and final member of their study group, jabbed.

Aziraphale, not sure of how much longer he can take their teasing, lifted his head up and begged, “Please, for the love of all things holy, can we work on our revisions?” And that was that.

The rest of the study session went on as normal; they would ask each other a question for clarification, Crowley would make a snide comment here or there, and at the end they all enjoyed a pizza while catching up.

“So, this admirer,” Crowley started, “do you-”

Aziraphale cut him off, “His name is Gabriel, and no I don’t reciprocate his feelings. To be frank, I don’t know why he is attracted to me. We never talk.”

“What are you gonna do?” Anathema asked.

“I don’t know. It’s not like I’m going to go on a date with him, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings either. I just...don’t know what to do. I want him to just leave me alone.”

-

Crowley and Aziraphale stepped out of the library into the bitter autumn breeze. It had gotten late, and Newt drove Anathema home, which left the other two. It was no mystery that Crowley and Aziraphale were apprehensive towards each other, and no one could quite figure out why they stayed in the same study group together. However, standing together in the cold night air, there was no animosity between them.

“Crowley, I hate to ask, and this is quite embarrassing really,” Aziraphale rambled, “but since we live on the same side of campus, do you think, at least, you don’t mind if I uh...could you give me a ride?”

“What? Afraid you’re going to run into your boyfriend?” Crowley smirked.

Aziraphale was at a loss for words. “He’s not—.”

“I’m kidding, angel,” Crowley opened the passenger door for him, “get in.”

Aziraphale, choosing to ignore the name Crowley had called him, clambered into the vehicle where they spent the ride in silence.

Crowley pulled up to Aziraphale’s building, but before he got out, Crowley spoke.

“Listen, Aziraphale. If this Gabriel dude starts seriously bothering you, tell me.”

“Why, what are you going to do?” When Crowley doesn’t answer, Aziraphale gets concerned. “You wouldn’t hurt him would you?” Again, no response. “Crowley, we’re not friends, what do you care if some guy is bothering me?”

“Goodnight Aziraphale, see you next week.”

“Goodnight Crowley.”

-

The next couple weeks, Aziraphale continues to appear at the study group with a bouquet of roses, each more extravagant than the last. Along with each new bouquet comes a string of smart ass remarks from Crowley. 

Aziraphale rolls his eyes at Crowley’s comments, but suppresses a laugh all the same. It helped to have a laugh and forget about Gabriel’s growing obsession. All the while, Aziraphale did his best to ignore it and get on with his studies. 

At the end of the study group meeting, Aziraphale climbed into Crowley’s car to go home. Over the past weeks it had become routine for Crowley to give Aziraphale a ride home, and neither of them minded. Though he would never have admitted it, Crowley didn’t mind the company.

“So how’d you two meet?” Crowley asks, keeping his eyes on the road.  
“He’s in Lit with me. We’ve never spoken to each other really. Sure, he introduced himself and we exchange small talk, but other than that he really just...I don’t know. He doesn’t even say anything when he gives me the flowers. They’re just on my desk when I walk in, and he stares at me.”

“Wow, a whole relationship where you don’t even talk to the guy. I envy you.”

“I told you, we’re not in a relationship! I don’t like him,” Aziraphale snapped.

Crowley stayed silent for a moment. “I was just teasing you y’know. From what you’ve told me, I’m not a big fan of the guy either.”

The air in the car felt heavier, and Crowley felt like he had to say something, anything to break the silence. “Let’s play a game. Two truths and a lie.”

Aziraphale was surprised, but didn’t protest. “You go first”

Crowley took a moment to think before speaking. “I used to have a pet snake, I’ve got a scar behind my ear from falling in the shower, and I used to do fencing.”

“Fencing?” Aziraphale guessed after a second of hesitation.

“Bingo.”

“You really fell in the shower? How?”

“I was singing and I may have gotten a little carried away….”

Aziraphale stifles a laugh. “What song?”

“It’s your turn, angel.”

Wanting to protest, but deciding against it, Aziraphale continues. “I’ve never read any of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, I took ballet for 5 years, and I still sleep with stuffed animals.”

“I don’t see you as a ballerina.”

“Well, unfortunately that was true. I can’t believe you would think I haven’t read Poe.”

“Didn’t see you as a horror guy either.”

“You really don’t know me that well then, do you?”

“It’s not like you know me any better,” Crowley protested.

Aziraphale said nothing, only looking at him with a blank expression. He really didn’t know Crowley, which caused him to go over a list of all the things he knew about Crowley in his head.

His name is Crowley.

He majors in marketing.

He had a pet snake.

He has a scar on the back of his ear from when he fell in the shower.

He only wears black and shades of gray.

He wears sunglasses inside.

He never knew when to shut his mouth.

That was it. That was everything he knew about the man driving him home. He wondered what Crowley knew about him, and if he too was making a list of everything he knew about Aziraphale. Was his list longer? Probably not. In fact, Crowley probably knew less about Aziraphale. Not that he should care. For the rest of the ride they sat in silence. 

When Crowley pulled up to Aziraphale’s dorm building, Aziraphale opened his mouth to say something, but Crowley beat him to the chase.

“Goodnight Aziraphale.”

“Goodnight Crowley.”


	2. best case scenarios

Aziraphale was late to the study group meeting, which was odd. Usually, Aziraphale was never late to anything. The others didn’t question it, and began without him. When Aziraphale slumped into his seat, he didn’t say anything, but something was off.

Crowley was the first (or perhaps the only one) to notice the rapid rise and fall of Aziraphale’s chest, and the way his was tugging at his hands, unable to pull out his books and begin studying. He contemplated passing him a note and asking if he was alright, but thought against it. Could Aziraphale even hold a pencil without it shaking out of his hands at the moment? Probably not.

Hiding the concern in his voice, Crowley whispered, “Hey, Aziraphale, I’m doing this research paper on, uh…,” he paused. He really should have thought this through before he opened his mouth. “Whales,” he added, “can you help me find where the whale books are?”

Aziraphale looked up at Crowley, and slowly nodded after taking a moment to comprehend what was spoken to him. Crowley stood up, and grabbed Aziraphales arm, dragging him into the Library’s maze of shelves.

“Are you okay?” Crowley asks, when they are finally out of earshot.

“There’s this thing that my Lit class is doing,” Aziraphale began to ramble, “we’re having some sort of dinner party. It’s like a period thing to help us understand the time setting of the story—”

“Get to the point.”

“He asked me to go to the party with him” Aziraphale looked down at the ground.

Had it been anyone else, Crowley would have rolled his eyes and told them they were overreacting. But this wasn’t anyone else. This was Aziraphale. And while this had no impact on Crowley whatsoever, he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. 

“What did you say?”

“I told him I have a date. My boyfriend.”

“Oh.” That hurt more. “Do you?”

“No. Crowley I don’t know what to do. I— he seemed so angry. And hurt. Not...physically angry but you know how you can tell that people were feeling more than they let on? It was like that…”

“Well, if you told him you have a boyfriend he should leave you alone now, right? Crisis averted.”

“No, Crowley you don’t understand. I don’t have a boyfriend to be my date to the party. I can’t just show up there by myself.”

“Okay, so get a boyfriend.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Ask Newt to be your date.”

“That—that wouldn’t work. Everyone knows him and Anathema are pretty serious, Gabriel would call my bluff.”

Crowley leans against the bookshelves, massaging his temples, and trying to think. He wants to help Aziraphale. Gabriel gives him the creeps, and he can’t think of what would happen if Aziraphale showed up by himself. 

“I’ll go with you,” Crowley blurted out. He knew it was stupid the minute he thought of it, but the damage was done. “I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend until the party.”

Aziraphale looked up at Crowley, at a loss for words. “You—but why?”

“I feel like being nice, don’t push it.” Crowley let out a deep breath, unable to believe what he just got himself into. “C’mon, let’s get back before they think I’ve killed you.”

They walked back to their seats, and went back to studying. Or in Crowley and Aziraphale’s case, zoning out. 

-

Driving back from the study group session, Crowley’s mind went a million miles a minute. “Don’t you think we should talk this through?”

“Yes, we should. I just have no clue where to begin.” Aziraphale was looking out the window, or rather, anywhere that wasn’t in Crowley’s direction.

“When is this dinner party?”

“Next month. The third monday in November.”

“So I have to be your boyfriend for 6 weeks?” Crowley’s hands gripped the steering wheel. He really did not know what he got himself into.

“Crowley...if you don’t want to do this you don’t have to. Nothing is official yet.”

“No, it’s fine. I want to help. Anyways, so dating. What would that entail?”

“Public displays of affection and a date or two.”

“‘Public displays of affection’? You sound like a highschool sex ed teacher,” Crowley chuckled.

“Whatever, you get my point. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

Crowley didn’t know if he was okay. He liked Aziraphale. A lot. And if he fucked up pretending to date him, that throws really dating him out the window.

“Yeah I’m okay with it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

They reached Aziraphale’s dorm building. He was hesitant to get out. “So we’ll start tomorrow, huh?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Aziraphale opened the door and stepped out. “Thank you Crowley. This means a lot.”

“Goodnight, Angel.”

-

The next day, Aziraphale arrived early to his Lit class, only to see Crowley waiting by the door. 

“What are you doing here?” Aziraphale was surprised, but not upset to see him there.

“What? Can’t a lovebird see his darling dearest before class?” 

Aziraphale’s face grew red. When Crowley had offered to be Aziraphale’s “boyfriend” he had no idea how cheesy and insufferable it could have ended up, and it would seem as if Aziraphale was paying the price. Well, two could play at that game.

“Aw, honeybear, you’re too sweet,” Aziraphale crooned, almost mockingly. He placed a hand on Crowley’s arm and another on his waist, making eye contact. It was hard to read Crowley’s face, but he seemed uncomfortable. Fuck. Had he done something wrong? He dropped his hands from where they rest on Crowley.

“So, this is your boyfriend?” Said a voice from behind the two, causing Aziraphale to jump, and twist around.

“Oh, hello Gabriel. Yes, this is my boyfriend Crowley.” Aziraphale introduced the two, shifting his eyes between them.

Crowley wrapped an arm around Aziraphale, pulling him closer, and held the other arm out to shaked Gabriel’s. “It’s so nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Zira’s?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Has he not mentioned me?”

“Come to think of it, I can’t recall...oh well, must have slipped my mind.”

An easy shiteating grin was plastered on Crowley’s face. He could tell Gabriel wasn’t having it, and it made this charade of theirs all the more fun.

“I should probably get to class babe, I’ll see you later,” Crowley hugged Aziraphale before sauntering away. He could feel Gabriel’s eyes trail after him, and a smirk spread across his lips.

God, what a fucking creep.


	3. All Dogs go to Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the lovely comments you guys have been sending!! it really makes my day when i read them i love yall so much!

“So, you and Crowley—”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.” Newt stared at Aziraphale with disbelief. “I thought you hated the guy.”

“I—what? Good heavens no, I never hated him. He’s just...difficult to be around. Uh, used to be difficult, that is.”

“What changed?”

Aziraphale was taken aback by the question, and it was in that moment he realized how little he and Crowley discussed the nature and history of their ‘relationship’.

“Oh, well you know…” Aziraphale scrambled his mind, trying to think of what to say. Thankfully, he was saved by the appearance Crowley. 

“Hey there, babycakes,” Crowley smirked, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.  
“Crowley! Hi, uhm, babe…?” Aziraphale grew flustered. “I was just telling Newt the story of our first date.”

“Our first date, huh? Wasn’t that the one with the movie?”

“Right! The movie! What was it again?”

“Can’t remember, something about a dog….”

Newt was unphased by their odd behavior, because quite frankly the two were bundles of awkwardness in any situation, so he assumed this was the norm.

Before long Anathema joined them, and the group settled town to study. Rather than sitting across the table from Aziraphale like before, Crowley sat next to him. Every so often their hands would softly brush against the other’s, as Crowley was left handed. Aziraphale’s heart skipped a beat at each accidental touch.

When the group grew tired of studying and began to pack up, Anathema spoke up, “Newt and I are going to this club on Saturday, it’s couples night so drinks are on discount if you two would like to join us?”

Aziraphale grew flustered, opening his mouth to speak only to have Crowley cut him off.

“We’d love to! I don’t know about Zira here,” he snaked his arm to rest on the smaller man’s shoulder, “but I’ve had one hell of a week. What time?”

“9:30? It’s at the club that’s on the corner of Main and 5th.”

“Perfect, we’ll be there,” Crowley grinned, ignoring the confused glare Aziraphale was shooting him.

“Sweet, see you guys then!” Anathema smiled, dragging Newt with her to go home.

Once the two were out of earshot, Aziraphale stammered, “Why did you agree to a double date?”

“Isn’t that what couples do, angel? We need to keep up appearances you know.”

“Yes I know that, but…” Aziraphale couldn’t find the words to complete his argument. In all honesty, Aziraphale had no clue why he was so against the idea of going to the club with Crowley. He did know however, that nothing good would come of it.

Crowley only shrugged and sauntered to his car with Aziraphale in tow.

“Oh, before I forget, I do believe that we need to have a discussion regarding our, uhm, arrangement.”

“What about it?” Crowley grunted, climbing into the car.

“Don’t you think we need to be on the same page about basic details such as our first date? I can’t believe I was foolish enough to forget people would inquire about these sorts of things. I was a complete buffoon in front of Newt.”

“It’s none of their business.”

“Crowley,” Aziraphale scolded.

“Right. Details. Sorry.”

“So we’ve already told Newt our first date our first date was at the movies, but what if someone asks what movie?”

“We could always say we’ve forgotten,” Crowley shrugged.

“No, that’s too simple. You mentioned the movie had a dog?”

“All Dogs Go To Heaven.”

 

“What?”

“It’s the first movie with a dog that popped into my head.”

“Oh. Okay. Good.” Aziraphale began fidgeting with his hands.

“Is that all?”

“Yes? I think so…? Wait, no. Public displays of affection.”

“What about them?”

“Are you okay with them?

“‘Course I am, it’s all fake isn’t it?”

“Yes of course, but uhm, do you have any boundaries I should be mindful of?”

“Angel, if you’re asking whether or not I’d get uncomfortable if you have to kiss me, the answer is no. Couples kiss, and we’re a couple, aren’t we?” Crowley scoffed.

“Not a real couple, but yes you’re right I suppose.”

“Well that’s settled then. Anything else?”

“Nothing that comes to mind. Again, thank you Crowley.”

“No worries, Angel.” Crowley smiled, looking at the other man with masked adoration.

“I should get going then shouldn’t I?” Aziraphale laughed, beginning to get out of the car.

Crowley hadn’t even realized they had arrived at Aziraphale’s dorm building. 

“Right. I’ll see you this Saturday for our date.”

Aziraphale could have sworn he saw a wink on Crowley’s face, but it was gone just as quick as it came.

“Goodnight, Crowley.”

 

“Goodnight, Angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter was a little dry! i had no clue on where i was going and truth be told i did procrastinate on it lmao. also sorry it's short there just wasnt too much i could add y'know? anyways next chapter will be up next friday!

**Author's Note:**

> hey! so i'm really excited for this fic! i can't promise a consistent upload schedule but i will definitely have the next chapter up next week. thank you all so much for reading! <3


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